Department of Justice Wants Kaspersky Lawsuits Dismissed

The Department of Justice defended the government’s decision to ban products sold by Russian software vendor Kaspersky Lab, arguing in federal court filings in favor of dismissing lawsuits brought on the firm’s behalf.

The DHS issued a binding operational directive (BOD) in September ordering civilian agencies to purge its networks of Kaspersky products, and Congress codified that prohibition by approving the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2018, an annual spending bill signed into law by President Trump in December that contains a provision barring federal entities from using the company’s hardware, software or services.

Attorneys for Kaspersky argued the policies unlawfully singled out their client’s U.S. offices, and that the prohibitions have damaged the company’s reputation. The Justice Department countered that the bans were proper, however, since U.S. officials have determined that using Kaspersky Lab products may pose a risk to national security.

“By the time this legislation reached the floor, there was broad agreement among lawmakers and cybersecurity officials in the executive branch that the security risks posed by the use of Kaspersky products and services were intolerably high, and strong bipartisan support for taking preventive action against those risks,” the Justice Department argued in a motion filed Monday to dismiss Kaspersky’s lawsuit against the defense-bill provision.

“Rescinding the BOD would leave the NDAA ban in place, which means agencies still would be required to remove and stop using Kaspersky products, and there still would be law branding the company’s software as a security risk,” the DOJ responded to Kaspersky’s attempt to overturn the DHS directive. “Nothing of practical value would come from a favorable ruling, and whatever…